AMBUSH GRIND OUT 8-7 OVERTIME WIN IN MILWAUKEE

Milwaukee, WI (January 12, 2020) – The St. Louis Ambush earned a hard-fought victory over the Milwaukee Wave Sunday afternoon at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. The win improved the Ambush to 4-5, while Milwaukee dropped to 6-2.

The Ambush seized an early advantage, scoring twice in the first quarter and holding that lead throughout a scoreless second quarter. JT Thomas assisted on the first goal by Duduca at 9:05, then Thomas scored one of his own, assisted by Lucas Almeida, at 12:02.

Thomas ignited the Ambush offense in the second half, scoring at 2:15 of the third quarter. Milwaukee finally got on the board at 5:02 when Stuart Grable was able to get a foot on a loose ball in front of the Ambush goal to make the score 3-1. The Ambush answered 17 seconds later when Duduca got his second tally of the contest. The visitors would increase the lead to 5-1 when Mario Marcos went on a breakaway and beat Wave goalkeeper Rafael Dias at 7:24. Milwaukee employed the sixth attacker in the seventh minute of the third quarter. The Ambush increased their lead to 6-1 when Oitomeia, playing in his first game, outpaced Milwaukee’s defense and walked it into the open net. Milwaukee would find the back of the net in the last minute of the period when Luan Oliveira scored to make it 6-2 heading into the final frame.

Duduca was sent to the penalty box for tripping at 1:33 of the fourth quarter and Ian Bennett made good on the power play with his goal at 3:25 to reduce the Ambush lead to 6-3. Milwaukee chipped away at the lead further when Alex Bradley put a high shot in the goal at 5:25. Milwaukee kept the pressure on as Oliveira made it a one goal game (6-5) when he scored at 10:49. The Wave continued as Bradley scored the equalizer at 12:11 followed by the go ahead goal by Andrew Wiedebach at 12:35. With just 19 seconds remaining in regulation play, Tony Walls scored off a pass from JT Thomas to knot the score 7-7 and send the game into overtime.

Despite having blown a big lead earlier in the game, the Ambush were able to regroup, go into overtime, and snag the victory. Felipe nailed the game-winner, off a pass from Thomas on a restart, for an 8-7 final score.

The Ambush return home to The Family Arena to host Utica City FC in a pair of games next weekend. The first of the two matches is slated for Friday, January 17 at 7:35 p.m. CST and the rematch will be Sunday, January 19 at 3:05 p.m. CST.

Single game tickets for the 2019-20 campaign are now on sale and can be purchased at the Family Arena box office or at ticketmaster.com. Groups of 10 or more can purchase their discounted tickets by calling the Ambush office at 636-477-6363.

POSTGAME NOTES

• Sunday's win marks the first time the current Ambush franchise has defeated the Wave. This was the 27th contest between the two teams since 2013.
• This match also marked the first road win for the Ambush this season.
• Ambush forward JT Thomas has been on fire. He posted two goals and three assists in this game and has four goals and four assists in his last two games.
• Ambush forward Duduca is also on a hot streak. He tallied two goals on Sunday and has six goals and an assist in his last three games.
• Defender Jonatan Santos played his first game in an Ambush uniform Sunday, against his former team, after being acquired in a trade on January 4. Santos made an immediate impact, blocking eight shots by the Wave.
• Tony Walls, the team's leading scorer, added a goal on Sunday. He has now scored in six consecutive games.